Where He Belonged
by MelodyMoonchild
Summary: An alternative ending to the series. Guinevere dies in the battle, but Arthur survives. Merlin's magic is revealed, and he is sentenced to death. Arthur wants him to flee, and helps him escape. Merlin then moves to a neighbouring kingdom, with Arthur's promise to find him again echoing in his head. Warning for Merthur and "gay" romance (love is love, no matter gender). One-shot.


So many troubles and thoughts were flying through Arthur's mind. They had won the war, but at a great cost. He was now kneeling at Guinevere's coffin, in front of their thrones. One of Morgana's men had snuck into her tent and slit her throat in the middle of the fight, the guards hadn't had time to react. Arthur felt as if someone had stabbed a dagger through his heart and was now slowly twisting it, although it wasn't only because of Guinevere. His mind wandered to Merlin down in the dungeons, and there was a sudden stab of pain in his chest again. He knew he had to keep up his facade though; he was the King after all.  
Arthur rose to his feet and turned to face the Knights of Camelot, "Long live the Queen!" he shouted, his voice trembling just slightly, and the Knights joined in, chanting the line over and over again. Arthur suddenly found it very hard to breathe.  
After the burial was over, Arthur sat on his throne, which was now the only throne to be seen. The doors swung open, and two guards were holding Merlin by the arms. Merlin was hanging his head, and not even when he was thrown onto the floor at Arthur's feet did he look up.  
"You were seen using magic, Merlin. A dozen Knights can confirm it." Arthur's voice sounded strained and disappointed.  
"Yes, my Lord." Arthur's eyes hardened when Merlin didn't even attempt to explain himself.  
"You know I have no other option than to sentence you to death. All these years, you deceived me. I thought I could trust you, I let you be my closest servant, and you never mentioned it." Arthur's voice sounded cold, even to his own ears.  
Merlin finally looked up, his eyes desperately seeking Arthur's, "Please, I only ever used magic for good. I would never have hurt you, surely you must know that." Merlin wasn't begging for his life, he knew the laws were clear on this point. He was begging for Arthur's understanding and forgiveness.  
"Take him to the dungeons, he will be hanged at dawn tomorrow." the order was curt, although the Knights closest to them could see the pain in Arthur's eyes. Merlin's head was once again hanging, facing the floor, as the guards escorted him out of the room.

Arthur was alternating between pacing around his chambers and staring out the window, watching the sun set outside. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.  
"Come in," Arthur said, still staring out the window.  
When the door slammed shut again, Arthur turned around and saw Gaius standing in the middle of the room, looking at him with his head tilted slightly to one side.  
"Oh, it's you, Gaius." Arthur said, "Every time that door opens, I expect to see Merlin standing there, looking at me sheepishly." He sighed.  
"Is there anything at all that I could say that would change your mind?" Gaius tried, his voice heavy with sorrow.  
"You could say that this whole mess was a mistake, that he isn't really a sorcerer.." The last ray of sunlight disappeared, and the only source of light in the room was now the candle that one of the servants had lit for him.  
"You know I can't say that, my Lord."  
"Yes, I know that. I just can't believe it. I didn't think.. him, of all people, why him?" Arthur turned and looked at Gaius with pleading eyes.  
"You should be glad that it was him, of all people." Gaius stepped forward and placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder, "You probably wouldn't be standing here right now if it wasn't for him. In fact, I'm quite sure that you wouldn't be standing here."  
Arthur's eyes grew wide, "What are you implying?"  
Gaius smiled a sad smile and patted him on the shoulder, "You have a lot to thank Merlin for, a lot that you don't realise yet, a lot that you never will realise. You might want to thank him before it is too late." Gaius turned and started walking towards the door.  
"Gaius!" Arthur called when he was just about to open the door.  
"Yes, My Lord?" Gaius' hand was resting on the doorknob as he looked curiously at the young King.  
"Can you keep a secret?"  
"Of course. Throughout my years with Merlin, I've become an expert at keeping secrets."  
Arthur winced as if in pain, "I... I love him. His betrayal and approaching death pains me more than the death of my wife... they swapped places in my heart a long time ago, but it was too late to back out." Arthur sat down on the chair in front of the desk, leaning his head in his hands.  
Gaius nodded towards him, "It was this situation that Merlin was trying to avoid all along, by keeping his secret from you." Gaius opened the door and walked out, leaving Arthur alone with his troubles.

"Merlin has been a good and loyal servant to me for many, many years. You have no right to question me about my intentions when I say I wish to see him, surely it should be enough to know that I do." The familiar voice echoed through the hall to the cell where Merlin was curled up on the floor.  
"Yes, of course! I am so sorry, Sire!" the guard answered, sounding completely terrified. Merlin wouldn't have been surprised if the guard had wet himself, Arthur could seem positively lethal when he raised his voice.  
Merlin didn't look up when the footsteps approached him, "That's a first," he said, without any hint of his old enthusiasm.  
"What?" Arthur's voice was lacking its usual smugness too.  
"You called me a good and loyal servant," Merlin finally looked up and his lip curled up into the slightest of smiles.  
"Shut up!" Arthur said, his old sarcasm back in place. It was so familiar to Merlin, how many times hadn't he been the victim of it?  
A small, unbidden voice whispered in his head, "And this is the last time that you will experience his sarcasm." Merlin's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. Arthur noticed this, and immediately seemed to regret what he'd said.  
"Merlin, I understand now why you didn't tell me... I can't claim that I'm happy about it, and I don't know if I can forgive you, but I know that you never have, and never will hurt me. I don't want you to die," he tried.  
"Yes, but the law does, and you have to obey the law. You know that," Merlin sighed tiredly.  
"I am the king, I can change the law," Arthur whispered, his voice brittle.  
"No. No, don't do that for me. Not now, not after you just defeated Morgana. People will think you've gone around the bend." Merlin was staring into the damp stone wall, knowing that he'd crumble if he looked at Arthur again.  
Arthur crouched down and gripped the bars, "Then you have to flee. If you can kill Morgana, then surely you can manage that."  
Merlin closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, "I can't. It will make you look like a bad King, who lets his prisoners escape," his voice was heavy with the tears that were threatening to overwhelm him.  
Arthur banged his fist against the bars, "Prisoners have escaped before!" He growled.  
"Yes, but none as important as me."  
That shut Arthur up. He stood up, and with a final glance at Merlin, he started walking away from the cell. The little flame of hope that Merlin had dared to keep alive in his heart was extinguished.

A few hours later Merlin was brutally awakened when someone dragged him up from the floor. First, he thought that it was already dawn and that he'd be hanged in a moment, but as soon as he opened his eyes it was clear to him that that wasn't the case. Someone was shaking him, trying to get him to wake up properly while holding a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. When he focused on the face, he could just barely make out the contours of Gwaine's face. There were two other men in the dungeon, one of them ushering the two of them out the door.  
They lead him quickly and quietly through the Citadel, and they only had to knock down a single guard on their way out. They didn'ẗ speak at all until they were on their horses, on their way out into the forest. By now Merlin had realised that the two other men were Sir Leon and Sir Percival.  
"May I ask what's going on here?" Merlin asked while they were riding through a particularly dense part of the forest, where only a few beams of moonlight penetrated the thick network of branches and leaves.  
"We're kidnapping you!" laughed Gwaine from behind, and Merlin turned his head to look at him.  
"Did Arthur send you?" His voice sounded almost hopeful.  
"No, Gaius did."  
Merlin's heart sank in his chest, and he turned forward just in time to get hit in the face by a low-hanging branch.  
Percival cleared his throat, "Arthur is waiting for you in a clearing not far away from here though."

"You have to flee, Merlin! My men will start looking for you at dawn." Arthur said as he sat on his horse next to Merlin in the clearing. "You have to be as far away as possible by then. I suggest that you ride to Tír-Mòr, you should be welcome there."  
Merlin nodded, understanding the importance in Arthur's words, "Is this farewell, then?" he asked, fearing the answer, gazing into Arthur's blue eyes.  
Arthur felt like cupping Merlin's cheek, but refrained. Once again, Merlin resembled the young, clueless boy who had wandered into the middle of his training exercise all those years ago without a clue to who Arthur was. "No, it's not. One day, magic will be allowed in Camelot, after the war has died down and the land is back on its feet. When that day arrives, you have my word that I will find you, and bring you home. It matters not how far away you are, I _will_ find you, somehow."  
Merlin nodded once more, and a tear made its way down his cheek. This time Arthur gave in to temptation, reached out and brushed the tear away with his thumb.  
There was a sound of a dog barking in the distance, and Merlin's eyes grew wide with worry. "They can't find you here, My King!" Merlin's lower lip started to tremble slightly.  
Arthur's earlier action seemed to have calmed Merlin down, so he leaned in and, without thinking, kissed Merlin's cheek lightly. "They won't, and my name is Arthur," he whispered, "I'll find you."  
Then they both headed off in different directions, not knowing if they would ever see each other again.

Merlin was mucking out the stalls in the stable of the farm where he now lived. It had been five years and 78 days since Arthur and him had gone their separate ways. He had settled down in Tír-Mòr like Arthur had suggested, and was working for a wealthy landlord. Not a day, hour, minute or second went by that Merlin didn't think about Arthur. He wondered if he'd ever meet him again, he hoped he would.  
Sorrowsweet, the horse in the stall next to the one he was currently mucking out, scraped her hoof against the floor, demanding more food. Merlin smiled and stroked her muzzle, then pecked a small kiss onto the horse's forehead. "Not yet, my dear. You have been eating an awful lot lately, if you become too fat you won't be of any use to the landlord." he said lovingly. He had grown rather fond of the horse, not only because of her personality, but also because of her name. "Sorrowsweet" described his emotions perfectly, he was sad because he missed Arthur, but it was a sweet kind of pain that was mixed with hope and a dream of a glorious future.  
Suddenly, the landlord's daughter entered the stables. She was about Merlin's age, and was very beautiful, something that amazed Merlin judging by the troll-like appearance of both her mother and father. "Merlin!" she called from the door.  
Merlin turned his head towards her, "Yes, Ayleth? Any news from town?" Merlin always asked her to find out as much about Camelot as possible when she went to town.  
"Actually, yes..." she said, cautiously approaching Merlin, "I know that you ask me to bring you news about Camelot, but you've always seemed particularly interested in the King..."  
"Yes?" Merlin said and stopped mucking, leaning against his pitchfork, "What about him?" He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead; he'd stopped using magic as soon as he arrived at the farmstead.  
"Well... According to the gossip in town, he's... dead," she paused for his reaction.  
Merlin let the pitchfork fall to the floor, he felt as if his heart had stopped beating.  
"He died a week ago. I know you loved him, I've figured that out by now. I'm so sorry, Emrys, I really am." She stepped up to him and embraced him, his body swaying slightly in her arms. "I'll talk to my father and make sure you can have a few days off. Take Sorrowsweet out for a ride, you'll feel better." She patted his back lightly.  
"Thank you," Merlin replied, his throat thick.  
Ayleth took a step back, smiled at him and walked out of the stables, while Merlin tried to hold back the tears as he saddled Sorrowsweet. She nudged his shoulder, because she knew something was wrong.

He rode down to the lake in the forest and sat down on a big rock. There he let the tears flow freely, dripping into the water, screaming out his agony. The forest was very much like the one he knew so well in Camelot, which he'd always seen as a good thing, up until now. Now every rustle of a leaf, every snap of a twig, every sound made him long to see Arthur walking through the forest. Of course, as the hunter Arthur was, he never made a sound while walking in a forest. That's why he took Merlin completely by surprise when he suddenly said, "It is Emrys now, isn't it?"  
Merlin didn't believe his own ears, he was sure he was just hallucinating. "No, you're dead. I won't turn around just to be disappointed, I'm just imagining things." he said determinately.  
"Really? So I'm just a creation of your imagination then? Because I feel very much alive." Arthur said, sounding amused.  
Merlin stopped breathing, "Arthur?"  
"Yes, Merlin, I'm right here," Arthur said, as he hugged Merlin from behind.  
Merlin whipped around and found himself face-to-face with a smiling Arthur. He looked just like himself, only slightly older. His blonde hair was starting to look a bit grey already.  
"Arthur!" Merlin breathed out as he threw himself into Arthur's open arms. "How can you be alive, when you're supposed to be dead?" Merlin was laughing now.  
"People really ought to stop believing in rumours, and I thought you would be smarter than to fall for my trick." Arthur smiled and cupped Merlin's cheek, wiping away the tears. His face turned serious again, "I'm sorry for the pain I caused you, for all the pain I have ever caused you."  
Merlin held Arthur as tight as possible without suffocating him, "It's okay, I would go through it all again if I had to, for you." Merlin whispered as he nuzzled Arthur's soft hair.  
Arthur leaned back a bit so he was able to look Merlin in the eye, "I promise I won't cause you any pain ever again," then he pressed his lips gently to Merlin's.  
Merlin seemed shocked at first, but accepted the kiss and cupped Arthur's face with his hands. When they broke the kiss to breathe, he whispered, "I believe you." Merlin leaned forward to kiss Arthur again, pouring all of his emotions into the kiss, trying to show Arthur just how much he had missed him.

They spent the day at the lake, talking about how Merlin had been caught using magic, their lives during their years apart, and how Arthur could be dead but still alive.  
"I thought all of the attackers were dead, so I changed back into my usual self, but then two men sprung up from behind a boulder and nearly killed Gwaine, there was no time to change shape. I'm sorry for putting you in that position," and Merlin seemed truly sorry.  
"Nonsense, I'm thankful you did, because I know the real you now," Arthur said. The sun was already setting now, "I thought about you all the time, especially at night. I remarried, to a princess from the North, her name was Adelaide. She was perfect in every way, except for one, she wasn't you. We had a son together, Walther, he's got my hair, but his beauty definitely comes from his mother's side. They'll take care of Camelot for me, I know they will."  
"I think you're beautiful," Merlin said, the dim light of the setting sun hiding his faint blush. "One question though, why did you leave all that? And how?"  
Arthur sighed, "Because of you. Magic is allowed in Camelot now, but my people would never have allowed their king to marry another man. So I chose you. I accidentally managed to drown while taking a swim, my body was never found. A tragic accident. Quite an elegant way for a King to die, eh?" Arthur smiled sadly at Merlin, showing off his simple tunic and trousers for emphasis. Merlin was stunned, he couldn't believe that Arthur had abandoned his position as King just to be with him. "I did, however, bring enough gold to buy us a small house in a village in Camelot. I will train people in sword fighting, and you will work as a physician, doesn't that sound like a nice and calm life?"  
They had retreated up onto the grass, so Merlin lit a fire, using his magic this time, "Won't people recognize you?" he asked, perplexed.  
"No one recognizes me without my armour, especially if I grow a beard." Arthur grabbed Merlin's hand and drew him closer.  
"You're right, that does sound like a nice life. I'll just have to say goodbye to the family I work for, and then we can leave," Merlin yawned. The sun had dropped below the horizon and the cold had crept upon them.  
Arthur grabbed a felt from the small bag he was carrying, and spread it over Merlin. He held Merlin close and kissed the top of his head, "We will do that tomorrow, and then we can go home." Merlin fell asleep in Arthur's arms, exhausted by the emotional turmoil he'd suffered through that day, but Arthur lay awake, relishing in the fact that Merlin was finally where he truly belonged: in his arms.


End file.
